February 6, 2011

The snow banks around Lake Wicwas are getting pretty high, with two more snow storms this week.  Sadly, the last storm included some freezing rain which put an end to the light dry snow we have had all year.  The lake saw snow, sleet, freezing rain, and even thunder and lightening on Saturday!  On the other hand, the freezing rain did make for some pretty scenes on Sunday morning when the sun came out and highlighted all the ice on the trees.

Fortunately it was a very light rain, leaving only a thin layer of ice, and not causing any notable power outages, at least in the area around Lake Wicwas.  With today's sun the temperature rose above freezing for the first time in quite a while, providing a little melting, but not much.

The skiing was great up until the rain, although slow going because the snow is so deep.  We went for a snow shoe today, and even that is a challenge.  In the woods, even with a little crust, we still sank deep into the light snow below.  And on the lake, the slush is just a couple of inches below the surface - it's faster traveling than in the woods, but you don't want to fall!  But the sky cleared out, and it was a beautiful day. 

Looking South toward Tucker Mountain

Certainly the animals aren't traveling much at all.  On a long ski yesterday over to Lake Pemigewasset I only saw one set of fox tracks the whole way.  Mobility for the deer is extremely difficult, and at this point they are staying in the small area of their yard.

There is pretty heavy loading of snow on roofs and decks - anyone with concern should consider having it cleared off, especially if we get more snow.  I can provide a local reference if you're interested.  At least there will be a couple of days this week where temperatures are forecast to get above freezing.